Natsuki Plays The Denial Better Than Anyone I've Ever Seen
by Windrises
Summary: Natsuki claims she's Shizuru's best friend, but Shizuru is in love with Natsuki and she knows Natsuki feels the same way. Despite that, Natsuki insists, on playing the denial game.


Note: Mai-Hime is an anime, that was created by the studio Sunrise.

Natsuki Kuga and Shizuru Fujino had known one another, for a few years. They met during high school, when Shizuru was the President of the Student Council and Natsuki was a gloomy, dark student. Natsuki had dealt with a busy and stressful life, that involved fighting a bunch of villains and saving a bunch of people.

Due to Natsuki having such a busy life, she wasn't full of energy and she wasn't the most excited type of person. Because of that, she wasn't very open or honest, when it came to her feelings. She was casual friends, with most of her fellow students. However, things were different, when it came to Shizuru. She and Natsuki had more personal, emotional conversations, than Natsuki was used to having.

Shizuru had a warm, gentle, and inviting presence. Because of that, Natsuki had a hard tim resisting Shizuru's charm and friendly way of acting. As time went on, Natsuki was ready to call Shizuru her best friend, but by then, it was clear that Shizuru saw Natsuki in a different light. Shizuru had a crush on Natsuki, ever since they first met, and after getting to know Natsuki better, her crush turned into true love. Although Natsuki kept claiming they were just the best of friends, their true feelings were obvious.

One day, Natsuki and Shizru were planning on seeing a movie. In order to get ready, Natsuki got on a purple t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and some old shoes. She gently and carefully brushed her hair, before heading to the living room. Natsuki looked at her parents and said, "I'm going to get going."

Natsuki's dad shook his arms around and replied, "Hold on there. Where are you going?"

Natsuki answered, "To the movies."

The dad had a confused look on his face, while asking, "Why would you do such a thing?"

Similar to her dad, Natsuki looked confused, while asking, "Why would that bother you?"

The dad answered, "Because going to the movies is a waste of money. Instead of spending twenty dollars, on a couple of movie tickets, you could pick-up some DVDs at the Goodwill. Instead of getting that terribly-priced popcorn and soda, you could go to a dollar store and save even more money."

Natsuki replied, "Instead of judging everything your daughter does, you can let her make her own decisions, which would save you an argument."

Natsuki's mom high-fived her and said, "You go girl." Natsuki's dad frowned and angrily sighed.

Natsuki said, "Anyways, me and Shizuru are going to go, to that new romance film, that stars a couple of people I don't remember."

The dad replied, "The actor, from that film, is a talentless goofball, who wastes money on hair gels and fancy combs."

The mom looked at her daughter and said, "You and Shizuru have been hanging out with one another, every week. You two have a powerful bond."

Natsuki replied, "That's for sure."

The mom was smart enough, to know Natsuki loved Shizuru. She knew her daughter was shy about it, so she hoped she could get her daughter to be honest, by being subtle. She said, "You and Shizuru are quite the couple, aren't you?"

Natsuki nervously replied, "We're a couple of good friends."

The mom put her hand on Natsuki's shoulder, while saying, "I know you have feelings, that make you uncomfortable. If you're ever ready, to share them, I'm here for you."

Natsuki replied, "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

The dad looked at his daughter and said, "If you're ever ready, to talk about not wasting money, I'm here for you."

Natsuki replied, "Frankly, that doesn't mean much to me."

The dad responded, "Your wallet won't have much, considering how much money you waste." Natsuki rolled her eyes and started heading out.

Natsuki got into her car and drove to Shizuru's house. After arriving, she knocked on the door. Shizuru opened the door, while wearing a blue t-shirt and a green skirt. She gave Natsuki a big hug, while saying, "It's so good to see you, darling."

Natsuki blushed and replied, "You know I don't like it, when you call me darling."

Shizuru sighed and responded, "I know, but it's hard to resit the urge, to call you such adorable nicknames. After all, you're the cutest person I know."

Natsuki was starting to get uncomfortable, so she said, "We should just get to the movie."

Shizuru replied, "If you say so."

After driving to the theater, Natsuki and Shizuru got out of the car. Shizuru started holding Natsuki's hand. Natsuki looked down and asked, "Are you sure, that you should be holding my hand?"

Shizuru had a chill look on her face, while asking, "Why would there be anything wrong with it?"

Natsuki answered, "It feels nice."

Shizuru pinched Natsuki's cheek, while saying, "Natsuki, nice things are good. You know that, don't you?"

Natsuki tried to retain her dignity, by saying, "Of course I know that. I really like spending time with you. You're really nice and everything, but sometimes, you baby me. I'm a very mature woman. If I may be so bold, I'm more mature than you, considering the silly things you occasionally do."

Shizuru replied, "I suppose that's fair. In addition to being more mature than me, you have a softer hand. When I hold your hand, I feel like I'm holding a gentle heart." Natsuki angrily blushed.

Natsuki and Shizuru went into the theater. There were several minutes of commercials and trailers, so Natsuki and Shizuru started talking. Natsuki enjoyed their conversation. She managed to get Shizuru, to take a break, from trying to flirt with her. They talked about what they had been up to, during the previous week and Natsuki talked about her greedy dad, who got rid of a few of the living-room's chairs, because he thought they were a waste of money.

After the movie started, Natsuki's attention turned to the screen. Shizuru rested her head on Natsuki's shoulder, which Natsuki wanted to complain about, but it felt so comfy.

Yuuichi Tate was also in the theater. Early into the movie, his cellphone rang. He grabbed the phone and saw that one of his friends was calling. He answered the phone and said, "Hi dude. I'm at the movies. The movie already started, because we can talk, since this movie's not very exciting. I only came to this movie, because Natsuki's here and I'm trying to win her heart." Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

Yuuichi said, "I don't mind talking, when I'm at a movie theater, especially when I'm at a romantic film. In fact, I don't mind singing." Yuuichi started singing a song. His voice was terrible and his lyrics were corny and random. After a few minutes of singing, a couple of guards grabbed him and threw him out.

During the film's lovey-dovey scenes, Shizuru stared at Natsuki, with a sweet grin on her face. Natsuki tried to ignore it, because she was still in denial, when it came to her obvious feelings.

After the film was over, Natsuki and Shizuru walked out of the theater, while holding hands. Shizuru looked at Natsuki and said, "What did you think of the film?"

Natsuki answered, "Um, it was pretty good. It had a solid plot. Some of the romance stuff was unbelievable and a little forced, but the acting was good."

Shizuru replied, "I enjoyed the romantic scenes. I thought they were very heartfelt and cute."

Natsuki responded, "They weren't my cup of tea, but if you enjoyed them, I'm glad to hear that."

For over an hour, Yuuichi had been standing outside and had been waiting for Natsuki. For years, he had been impressed by Natsuki's looks, so he had been wanting to date her. Although she appeared to have little interest in him, Yuuichi was a desperate guy, so he kept asking her out. Yuuichi ran to Natsuki and said, "Hi Natsuki. It's good to see you."

Natsuki folded her arms and replied, "I think we need to talk about your behavior, at the movies."

Yuuichi responded, "Come on, Natsuki. I was acting like a pretty cool guy."

Natsuki replied, "You went to the movies, just so you can spy on me and after the movie started, you sang."

Yuuichi responded, "If I may be so bold, I think my singing voice was better than the movie." Natsuki rolled her eyes. Yuuichi said, "Look, I know I'm not very considerate, charming, smart, wealthy, or cool, but I'm a guy and you're single, so we'd be a perfect couple."

Shizuru walked closer and said, "I don't think that's be a good idea." She put her arm around Natsuki, while saying, "Besides, Natsuki's already in a relationship, sort of."

Yuuichi put his hand on his chin, while replying, "Sounds like I'll have to battle someone, to win Natsuki's affection."

Shizuru whispered, "Natsuki's mine, so if you want a battle, bring it on."

Yuuichi was afraid of Shizuru, so he nervously started jumping around. He looked back at Natsuki and said, "You know what? You and Shizuru are cute together and I don't want to ruin that, so I'm going to hit the road." He started hopping away.

Natsuki looked back at Shizuru, with a disapproving look on her face. She folded her arms and asked, "Did you tell Yuuichi, that we were dating?"

Shizuru nervously smiled and answered, "I hinted at it."

Natsuki angrily sighed and asked, "Why would you lie?"

Shizuru didn't want to make Natsuki uncomfortable, but Natsuki's denial was getting so extreme, that Shizuru felt the need, to push their relationship further. Natsuki and Shizuru frequently held hands, gave one another love poems, had the longest of hugs, and had shown a great amount of affection and care, that they had never shared with anybody else. Despite all of that, Natsuki claimed they were just friends. Several family members and friends could tell Natsuki and Shizuru were in love, but Natsuki kept playing the denial game.

Shizuru put her hand on Natsuki's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry for rushing our relationship, but it's hard to tell what our relationship is, at this point."

Natsuki asked, "What do you mean?"

Shizuru answered, "I don't mean to be rude, but you need to face the facts. We do everything a couple would do and we have feelings, that are clearly romantic. As much as I like you, I don't want to be your best friend. I want to be your girlfriend."

Natsuki stubbornly replied, "I don't want to talk about it. You're my best friend and there's no further meaning, to our relationship." Natsuki clearly didn't mean that, but her shyness was becoming too painful, for her to express her true feelings.

Shizuru looked at Natsuki, while saying, "Well, I want you to know, that I do love you. It's a romantic type of love. There's nobody in this world, that I love more than you." Natsuki blushed, while feeling her heart being warmed up.

Suddenly, Natsuki heard the sound, of a nearby bank being robbed. She looked back at Shizuru and said, "I'm sorry, but I need to get going."

Shizuru replied, "I understand. I wish you the best of luck, darling." Natsuki tried to avoid blushing, while running to the bank.

Gonna Getcha was an infamous bank robber, who robbed hundreds of banks. He wore a black suit, a top hat, and he had a lengthy mustache. He broke into the bank and started packing the money. He had an evil smile on his face, while saying, "I'm going to have every single cent, that has ever been put into this vault. Money's the most important element of a bank, which is why I'm the perfect arch-enemy, for every bank in the world." He did an evil laugh, while twirling his mustache.

Natsuki went into the vault. She felt determined, to stop Gonna Getcha. She faced him and said, "You better retire, from being a bank robber."

Gonna Getcha replied, "I should never do that. I'm the greatest bank robber, of all time. I've managed to defeat dozens of opponents, who have stood in my way."

Natsuki responded, "You've never stopped me."

Gonna Getcha replied, "I'm going, to change that record and become more feared than ever." He tried to throw bags of money, at Natsuki, but she managed to dodge all of them. She started punching and kicking him.

Gonna Getcha said, "You put up a good fight, but I'm going to get you."

Natsuki replied, "That's never going to happen. As time has gone on, you haven't become a better robber. In fact, you've been getting weaker."

Gonna Getcha stubbornly responded, "That's not true. I'm one of the most wanted criminals, that there's ever been, and I've earned that reputation." He tried to attack her. Although he was able to kick her around, she quickly recovered and showed him who's boss. He tried to become a stronger opponent, but Natsuki had far better fight moves and she put a lot more effort into her fights, than Gonna Getcha ever did.

After the fight was over, Gonna Getcha fell to the ground. Natsuki grabbed him and put some handcuffs on him. Gonna Getcha said, "Don't become confident with your success. I'm going to break out and rob tons of banks. I'm going to become one of the richest criminals, that the world has ever laid eyes on."

Natsuki replied, "One of the reasons, that you keep getting beaten up and arrested, is because you're in denial. You think you're some kind of mastermind, who's brilliant and strong, but you're actually a scummy, lazy crook, who doesn't know what he's doing." Natsuki started thinking and realized, that she had been in denial, similar to Gonna Getcha. She claimed she and Shizuru were the best of friends and would never become anything more, but deep down, she knew that wasn't the case.

Natsuki drove to Shizuru's house and knocked on the door. Shizuru opened the door and asked, "What's going on?"

Natsuki had a guilty look on her face, while saying, "Shizuru, I'm sorry for denying the truth. I was so scared, of my real feelings, that I tried to hide them. Although I love spending time with you, I've felt a lot of awkwardness, stress, and confusion."

Shizuru gently replied, "It's okay, Natsuki. You don't have to be afraid of the truth, because I'm going to love you, no matter what." She lifted Natsuki's chin up, while saying, "Please tell me how you feel."

Natsuki responded, "I feel love, for you."

Shizuru looked excited, while asking, "Really?"

Natsuki said, "Before meeting you, I had never found true love and wasn't expecting, to ever find. However, I found it and it's more wonderful, than I could of ever expected." She nervously fiddled with my hair, while saying, "It's also more uncomfortable and embarrassing, than I could ever feared, but I'm done with the fears and I'm done with my denial game."

Natsuki held hands with Shizuru, while saying, "I love you and I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend. Will you go out with me?" Shizuru nodded and reached in, for a kiss. Natsuki accepted it and the two shared their first kiss. Natsuki had finally flunked the denial game, but she had won Shizuru's heart, which was the best prize of them all.


End file.
